BENTON COUNTY, Wash.-Prosecutor Eric Eisinger is hoping to block Judge Terry Tanner from presiding over any cases prosecuted by his office.
In a letter to Benton County District Court Judges on September 12, Eisinger also calls on Judge Tanner, who has been arrested twice for DUI, in 2018 and 2023, to resign.
“It is my view that Judge Tanner’s second DUI disqualifies him from continuing to hold the office of Benton County District Court Judge,” Prosecutor Eisinger wrote.
Judge Tanner’s second DUI arrest came in January when he was found to have a blood-alcohol content almost three times the legal limit after crashing his car in Richland according to court documents.
When Officers arrived at the scene of the crash Judge Tanner claimed that he had not been driving and that the car did not belong to him.
“Judge Tanner repeatedly lied to the investigating officer regarding whether he owned or was the driver of the nearby, crashed vehicle that was registered in his name,” Prosecutor Eisinger continued in his letter.
The DUI case was prosecuted in Yakima County District Court with Judge Tanner agreeing to a five-year deferred prosecution agreement.
Under the deferred prosecution agreement Judge Tanner must receive treatment for alcoholism, have an interlock device installed in his car and agree to be tested for alcohol use according to court documents.
Judge Tanner has been censured by the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct, but was allowed to stay on the bench. Records show that the Commission recommended a month-long suspension, treatment for alcoholism and that Tanner not be allowed to hear DUI cases.
“For these reasons, I am calling for Judge Tanner’s resignation from his position as Benton County District Court Judge,” Prosecutor Eisinger wrote.
